New Russian tortoise owner

JennyB444

New Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
IL
Hi,

We just got a 10 Year Russian Tortoise. Any recommendations on how help him adapt? When we got him his beak was long and yesterday ended up getting caught in his shell. We are able to get it out and trim it a bit but I think he’s traumatized from it and the new environment. Thanks!
 

nicoleann2214

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2020
Messages
917
Location (City and/or State)
NY
Hi,

We just got a 10 Year Russian Tortoise. Any recommendations on how help him adapt? When we got him his beak was long and yesterday ended up getting caught in his shell. We are able to get it out and trim it a bit but I think he’s traumatized from it and the new environment. Thanks!
I’d give him time to adjust first.
 

KarenSoCal

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 8, 2017
Messages
5,750
Location (City and/or State)
Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
Congrats on your new friend, and welcome to the forum!

Tortoises really don't like change, and take a while to adjust to their new surroundings. Making sure his enclosure is correctly set up for him is the best way to help him. Also, don't try to hold or pet him for several days. If he'll take food from your hand, great! But if he doesn't, just leave him alone. In fact, he might go on a hunger strike for a period of time. If he doesn't eat for a week or more, don't worry. He won't starve himself, and torts can go a long time without eating.

Speaking of eating, make sure to offer a wide variety of good foods.

I am attaching a very good care sheet for Russians, and then a very long list of good tort foods.

We'd love to see some pictures of his enclosure and the tort himself. Include a shot of him taken from underneath him, showing the tail area as well as the entire plastron. And one of his face and beak.


Compiled by Tom: Good foods for tortoises are "chicories," types of lettuce that are likely to be on the far side of the more common floppy green heads of lettuce most people buy. Anything labeled as simply "chicory" is good, as are radiccio, frisee, escarole, and endive; you might even find something labeled as dandelions. You may find a bag of "Spring" or "Spicy" mix that is good, just check the label to be sure it has some of the chicories I just mentioned. The leaves (just the leaves) of turnips and radishes are also good, as are carrot tops. Collards, mustard greens, bok choy, and other dark, leafy greens are okay as well. If you have any kind of Mexican/hispanic market near you, they will sell cactus, labeled "nopales." Cactus is a great food to rotate in the diet, as it is high in calcium. You don't need to feed all of these at one time, just make sure your tortoise is getting access to different types of food. As you get more experienced, you can find the better types of food listed on the care sheets. Here are a whole bunch of non-grocery store suggestions. Mulberry leaves Grape vine leaves Hibiscus leaves African hibiscus leaves Blue hibiscus leaves Rose of Sharon leaves Rose leaves Geraniums Gazanias Nasturtium Lavatera Pansies Petunias Hostas Honeysuckle Cape honeysuckle Leaves and blooms from any squash plant, like pumpkin, cucumber, summer squash, etc... Young spineless opuntia cactus pads Weeds: There are soooooooo many... Dandelion Mallow Filaree Smooth Sow thistle Prickly Sow thistle Milk thistle Goat head weed Cats ear Nettles Trefoil Wild onion Wild mustard Wild Garlic Clovers Broadleaf plantain Narrow leaf plantain Chick weed Hawksbit Hensbit Hawksbeard Other good stuff: "Testudo Seed Mix" from http://www.tortoisesupply.com/SeedMixes Pasture mixes or other seeds from http://www.groworganic.com/seeds.html Homegrown alfalfa Mazuri Tortoise Chow ZooMed Grassland Tortoise Food Ones that you can buy in every store: Arugula Lambs lettuce Chicory Kale Mustard greens Organic kohlrabi leafs Organic carrot leafs Organic radish leafs Dandelions Radiccio Their main diet should be broad leaf weeds, succulents and grasses. Store bought foods are okay, but not the best. Collards and dandelions are a good food, but neither should be used every day. Check out the plant ID section for lots of ideas on weeds to feed. You can get spineless opuntia cactus pads from most Mexican grocery stores, or grow them yourself. You can also easily grow grape leaves, african hibiscus, regular hibiscus (if it will survive in your area), and mulberry leaves. You can try red apple, ice plant, and jade plant too. Also look into Gazania, pansies, nasturtiums, carnations, geraniums and many others. At the grocery store, favor endive and escarole, but also use cilantro, carrot tops, mustard and turnip greens, bok choy, radiccio, swiss chard, watercress, parsley, all the lettuces, etc. Lots of variety is best. There are also tortoise "weed" seed mixes that you can grow. I like the "Testudo Mix" from Tortoisesupply.com. Buckwheat; cactus; vetch; Mohave aster; creosote bush; desert four o’clock; tacoma stans; bladderpod; globe mallow; goldenhead; burro weed; so many things!
 

JennyB444

New Member
Joined
May 31, 2020
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
IL
Thank you! I was nervous about him not eating. I will definitely send pics later today.
 
L

LasTortugasNinja

Guest
mine took a week and a half to eat when I first got him. Now he eats two plates of greens a day! EEP!
 
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